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I know when me and my buddy would practice using a wiffle ball(he would bat because he's an offensive specialist and I would pitch because I was training sidearm) it would mess up my accuracy/etc. pitching with something that light.

At any rate, that's pretty cool nonetheless. I used to try to do that but I know I never got anywhere near that speed

I know when me and my buddy would practice using a wiffle ball(he would bat because he's an offensive specialist and I would pitch because I was training sidearm) it would mess up my accuracy/etc. pitching with something that light.

At any rate, that's pretty cool nonetheless. I used to try to do that but I know I never got anywhere near that speed

When I played ball, we used the wiffle golf balls. You could make then dance like that. It really helped your batting eye.

having never played the game at a high school level, I don't know much about the technique...

But, I've seen lots of pitchers, and know they don't have to be the biggest guys in the world to pitch.

Is it mostly technique to achieve these speeds? I'm sure a lot of it is just innate ability

The main thing I've heard most often is that elite arm velocity is something that you either have or you don't.

Size helps, but you can be 6'6" and work out your arms every day and still not have the velocity you need.

I've heard one trainer say it's basically something you're "born with" or rather, that it's something that you can't really teach and you can generally see it in an individual even from an early age. Kind of like speed/quickness

The main thing I've heard most often is that elite arm velocity is something that you either have or you don't.

Size helps, but you can be 6'6" and work out your arms every day and still not have the velocity you need.

I've heard one trainer say it's basically something you're "born with" or rather, that it's something that you can't really teach and you can generally see it in an individual even from an early age. Kind of like speed/quickness

I figured it was something like that. Kind of like when you see a skinny 16 yr old drive a golfball 250yd consistently

On top of having "it", technique and understanding of the physics behind the technique play a huge role in differentiating a "thrower" and a pitcher. Just like a golf swing, a ton of arm speed and subsequently pitch velocity is generated from the hips down.

Another cause of the 100-mph ceiling owes to this: the amount of torque needed to throw in excess of the century mark is greater than the amount of force the ulnar collateral ligament (the elbow ligament Strasburg tore) can withstand before giving out, according to tests Fleisig has done on cadavers. When a pitcher cocks his arm, where it is turned back to the point where the palm is facing toward the sky, there's about 100 Newton-meters of torque on the arm, which subjects the arm to the same amount of stress as if the pitcher had a 60-pound weight hanging from his hand in that position, Fleisig says.
From that cocked position, the arm snaps forward to its release point in 0.03 seconds, and at its peak speed, an elite pitcher's arm rotates at upward of 8500 degrees per second. If that single instant of speed could be maintained, then a pitcher's arm would spin around 24 times in a second. "Shoulder rotation in baseball pitching is the fastest motion of any joint in any athlete," Fleisig says; moving faster than hip joints in sprinters or shoulders in elite tennis players.

having never played the game at a high school level, I don't know much about the technique...

But, I've seen lots of pitchers, and know they don't have to be the biggest guys in the world to pitch.

Is it mostly technique to achieve these speeds? I'm sure a lot of it is just innate ability

Arm flexibility, shoulder/elbow stability, leg strength, and mechanics. Most pitchers that can throw a baseball +100 mph are genetically gifted with superb arm flexibility allowing them to create a whip like action when throwing. Proper strength and mechanics can be attained through weight training and practice.

Arm flexibility, shoulder/elbow stability, leg strength, and mechanics. Most pitchers that can throw a baseball +100 mph are genetically gifted with superb arm flexibility allowing them to create a whip like action when throwing. Proper strength and mechanics can be attained through weight training and practice.

Much of these concepts are rooted in biomechanics. This is a mixture of anatomy, math and physics. Pitchers have optimum angles and relative height releases and much of their speed or linear velocity is based on torque and power. The trunk rotation generates much of the power and kinematics (the form). You can find some cool videos explaining pitching. A really good video to search for is the biomechanics of Tim Lincecum. He is even more unique.